MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd July, 2020) Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar arrived on Friday in Libya's capital of Tripoli for an unannounced visit to hold talks with officials of the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA).
Meanwhile, the head of rival Libyan eastern-based parliament, Aguila Saleh, is paying an official visit to Russia.
Libya's 218TV broadcaster reported the visit, citing a source. Shortly after, the visit was confirmed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as cited by the official Anadolu news agency.
Akar is accompanied by the chief of the general staff of the Turkish Armed Forces, Yasar Guler, according to Erdogan. The sides are expected to discuss partnership in the field of defense and training assistance of Ankara's troops in Libya.�
For several years, Libya has been split between the two rival administrations � the Tripoli-based GNA, backed by Turkey, and the eastern-based parliament, supported by the Libyan National Army (LNA).
In late November 2019, the GNA signed with Turkey the memorandum of understanding on military cooperation and a new maritime border in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Under the deal, Ankara is to receive access to a zone between Turkey and Libya in the Mediterranean, claimed also by Greece and Cyprus.
The agreement has also seen Ankara step up its oil and gas exploration off the coast of Cyprus, which has triggered a backlash from other European leaders, who have called Turkey's actions illegal and provocative.
Turkey has been providing extensive military support to the GNA since it requested assistance in late 2019. The two parties' military cooperation pact was heavily criticized by the LNA and the eastern-based authorities that it supports.
